{"id":43885,"date":"2019-02-08T08:00:30","date_gmt":"2019-02-07T23:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=43885"},"modified":"2022-02-03T14:11:56","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T05:11:56","slug":"akita-tazawako-powder-snow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/akita-tazawako-powder-snow\/","title":{"rendered":"Tazawako: The Best Place to Enjoy Japanese Powder Snow That Is Still A Secret"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sponsored by Semboku City<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With his ski pole, Hiro-san drew a cute little monster face on the meter-sized ball of snow suspended in the branches of a nearby tree. Cute perhaps, but this was a snow monster. This innocuous-looking giant snowball could weigh 300kg, Hiro explained, so when the wind blows hard through the trees, pay attention to what might come down on your head. It would be wise to heed the words of Hiro-san, who once spent a year on working holiday as a nature guide in Whistler, Canada before coming to the Tazawako area<\/strong> where he has become an outdoorsman-of-all-trades<\/strong>, running a campsite and leading English speaking outdoor tours, like the snowshoeing<\/strong> adventure we were just about to begin here in Tazawako.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Japanese<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Tazawako Powder: The Finest Skiing Snow In the World<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The weather in the Tazawako<\/strong> area of Akita<\/strong> Prefecture, which boasts Japan’s deepest lake,<\/strong> many famous onsens<\/em><\/strong>, and the rarely crowded Tazawako Ski Resort<\/strong>, is in a word, unpredictable. There are days of wind and snow followed by sunny skies illuminating the brilliant white scenery. But the weather is what brings people to Akita, to experience its little-known Winter secret: one of the finest powder snowfalls in the world<\/strong>. Though a mere 3 hours from Tokyo via bullet train<\/strong>, Tazawako is largely ignored by foreign visitors, and the few I met during my stay prefer to keep it that way. They love their hectares of back-country powder<\/strong> and the traditional Japanese experience<\/strong> sans the tourist crowds. But there is still plenty of opportunities for Tazawako to capture some of the tourism Japan is bringing in without any major effect on the overall experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n